


Cry Me A River

by OhioIsntReal



Category: Hazbin Hotel (Web Series)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Drinking to Cope, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, How Do I Tag, Murder, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Reader-Insert, Songfic, a little out of character, insecure reader
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-12
Updated: 2020-06-03
Packaged: 2021-03-02 00:20:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 16,468
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23605960
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OhioIsntReal/pseuds/OhioIsntReal
Summary: when a sultry singer dies in the 1950's from a stingy murder and has no clue how to continue living in hell, who can blame her when she goes straight back to what she's been doing all her life?  what will she do when her walls that she's built so high start to get knocked down by a downright intriguing cat demon?
Relationships: Husk (Hazbin Hotel)/Reader
Comments: 13
Kudos: 55





	1. why don't you do right

The empty glass of liquor shook in your weak hand, your legs draped over your bathtub as you stared up at the tiled ceiling, tears burning your searing cheeks. You could feel your vision spotting and your limbs going numb, it was becoming harder to breathe, and your eyelids fluttered in attempts to grab onto anything that wasn't becoming shrouded in black. A faint frown became almost painfully painted onto your features, you were dying, you were really dying, you wouldn't be able to see the sun again, to really be happy again, and you couldn't do anything about it. If you had enough energy you would've called an ambulance, you really would have, but it was far too late for that now, and the man with the gun planted firmly on your temple wouldn't allow that.

"just fucking do it already," you muttered out, voice cracking from the sob caught in your throat, you wouldn't let yourself truly cry in front of the jackass.

You heard the gun ready against your head, "whatever you say, whore."

Then you heard a bang, saw black, and finally, red.

\---

You adjusted your black laced bralette and long, lace trimmed stockings held up by garters. The silky see-through shawl that adorned your shoulders and met the slip of panties at your waist barely covered up your nearly nude form. Your small, fluffy tail that sat just at the base of your back along with the ears that were coddled in your short, wavy bob feigned a strange sense of innocence in your other wise raunchy getup. By the sound of all the jeers in the crowd, it looked like you had to be good to get any kind of payment from the demons jesting in the bar.

Sure, you had done this before, but you had never preformed in a place like this, not in front of a handful of drugged out freaks and murderers. You'd only done any kind of erotic performance while you were alive, while you were much safer than you currently were. You were quickly snapped out of your thoughts from the announcement of your name by the stage hand through the gnarled microphone that only sent you into more of a panic. Goosebumps trailed your skin as a feeble hand grasped the red curtain that only moments before hid you. Your stocking covered leg was the first to show into the warm, yellowed spotlight, followed by the rest of your shamelessly hourglass shaped form. You tried your best to feign confidence as you strutted towards the microphone, your presence finally starting to feel familiar as you grasped the rusted mic.

"how are you boys doin' tonight," you smiled, thick eyelashes fluttering at each disgustingly drunk demon, gladly their whistles told you that you were doing fine.

Your lips parted into song, and the applause at the end of your performance gave you a handsome payment, especially for your first show in hell.

But that was 64 years ago, and this was now.

Your heavy eyebags clashed with your slightly smudged eyeliner and shimmering makeup across your eyelids and cheeks. The golden brown whiskey in the glass, held by your black stiletto manicure, swayed with every movement of your wrist, and washed down any kind of emotions that dared to seep through into your face, especially when you threw your head back when you took an exceptionally large swig of the alcohol before you.

You tiredly eyed the thickly scaled bartender, who gave you yet another glass of the whiskey silently, completely understanding your request just by the look you gave him. He'd gotten it dozens of times before from hundreds of other patrons, the look that was worn in and ready to give up. The sickly tv that sat screwed into the wall just to the right of you had been playing the 666 news, broadcasting some sort of announcement from the princess of hell or something of another. You really didn't bother to pay attention. You wouldn't even think about anything else other than a smoke or a drink after a performance, they had begun to take so much out of you recently, whether it was the way men tried to grab you or the offhanded comments you'd get didn't matter much, you hated all of it equally.

Your fluttering eyes finally strayed to the television when the head news anchor, Katie Killjoy, began to clobber the other blonde for a reason you simply didn't bother to think of.

"whats up with them?" You questioned as you gestured towards the television, leaning into the bar, while splitting your attention between the bartender and the fight.

With a sigh, he stated, “some broad decided to start up a hotel that's supposed to ‘rehabilitate sinners’, er whatever the hell that means.”

You nodded, not even minding his under-the-breath curses or blatant rudeness. You had learned all you needed to know from the guy and were sure as hell ready to pry yourself off of the crummy leather barstool and lived in wooden counter.

You stood up and you passed a dirtied 20 dollar bill over to the bar tender which he lazily took, and stupidly enough, you had already made up your mind to head over to the hotel and check it out. If rehabilitating sinners meant what you thought it had meant, you'd be getting a free room and maybe even make it out of the shit hole known as hell, but it wasn't like you really wanted an out anyway, what you really wanted was to stop paying rent.

You walked over to the door with a faint idea of where you would be going, and quickly opened the bar's door, a sudden feeling of dread crawling into your skin as you began your short lived search for the hotel. Your black heels clicked along the worn out, paved sidewalk. The pentagram hanging dauntingly above you reminded you of where you were, the thought only made you walk faster, while your arms crossed over your chest as you leaned into each step, keen on hurrying to the hotel, if you could even find it.

You let go a breath you had been holding in your chest, the sign of the hotel had come into view, large letters read, "happy hotel" the sheer innocence of it enticed a small laugh out of you that only you heard, not like any of the demons around you really cared anyway.

You'd been around hell long enough to recognize a worn out idea when you saw one. The happy hotel looked to be like any other cheesy tv ad that tried to sell you an outrageous offer that was too good to be true, at a "modest" price. A handful of fear struck fools would wander into the place, get the wake up call that they're too much of a load of shit to be redeemed, and walk out of the shit show.

How lucifer even approved of this was a mind fuck in of itself, was the princess really that innocent, so stupid?

You had lost hope in ever redeeming yourself years ago. When you first got into the business of selling yourself out to bars and other places to perform you wholeheartedly believed you would get better, that the job would be temporary. You said the same thing when you started drinking and smoking. You never wanted to work at such awful places, you wanted to do more things in your life. You wanted to really sing at nice places, you wanted to really open up, you wanted to be yourself.

Hell wasn't a place for people like you, for people who didn't have the gull to even speak their mind, to be too scared to show who they really are. 

You snapped yourself out of your racing, and slightly mocking, thoughts when you noticed you were just at the door step of the hotel. The two doors that were in front of you shown with two red apples surrounded by golden glass panes, the glass work by itself was beautiful by itself, not to mention the intricate carvings of the wood.

You hesitated slightly before knocking on the door, quickly folding you hands at the waist as you waited for god knows who to greet you at the door. A blonde demon gazed up at you with excited eyes right when the door swung open, her mouth parted into an awe-struck smile as she threw her hand out for you to shake which you gladly took.

"Hello! My name is Charlie! Did you see us on the news?" she started, quickly rambling into all kinds of other questions and side tangents as she vigorously shook your hand.

You smiled a quiet smile as you calmly interrupted, "My name is y/n."

She gasped as she let go of your hand, "oh gosh, I didn't even realize I started to ramble."

You began to wonder how such a nice demon was raised in a place like this, surrounded by awful people at every turn.

She really was cute, "don't worry about it doll, but i am interested in the hotel, what exactly do you want to do here, again?" You questioned, honestly interested and quite charmed by her positively upbeat personality.

"I'm so glad you asked!" she began, "I'd like to solve over population in hell by redeeming sinners! Hopefully by the end of it they'll get sent straight to heaven." You nodded along politely as she leaded you into the hotel, gesturing to paintings and furnishings while lightly glossing over the general location of the kitchen, guest rooms, and presently, the lobby. 

You took notice of a spider and moth demon in another room, the two of them taking small jabs at each other in a way that made it clear that they wished to annoy each other. You chuckled lightly at this before turning to face Charlie once again, the pink cheeked demon standing a bit shorter than you, even if you didn't have heels on. 

"So, what do you think?" she looked eager and hopeful, obviously hoping for your reaction to be positive in any way.

You hesitated. What did you think? You thought it was pointless, impossible, and obviously wouldn't work, but at the same time, her hope and love for the place made you feel a little less poorly about it.

"I think it sounds wonderful, Charlie," you smiled down at her, "If it wouldn't be a bother, I think I'd like to stay for awhile."

She absolutely beamed at your response, nodding while shaking your hands in hers before skipping over to tell the moth demon of your interest in the hotel. The girl instantly smiled at the news, eyes shifting from Charlie to you with nothing but warm features, all the while nodding along with her rambles.

A knock cut through the moment Charlie was having with the other girl, both yours and Charlie's head snapped to the door, you smile faltering slightly as you slowly walked to the door, Charlie following close behind. The awful feeling you had festered in your gut returned, while your heart seemed to jump into your throat. Your arms became covered in goosebumps as the smaller demon opened the door only to be greeted by a loud, almost deafening sound of a radio sputter that enveloped the air, causing your ears to press against the sides of your head along with a wince in your features. Your heart skipped a beat at the frighteningly tall deer demon standing in the door way. You instantly recognized that face, those clothes, and the cocky expression.

It was the radio demon.


	2. I'm a fool to want you

_Your arms became covered in goosebumps as the smaller demon opened the door only to be greeted by a loud, almost deafening sound of a radio sputter that enveloped the air, causing your ears to press against the sides of your head along with a wince in your features. Your heart skipped a beat at the frighteningly tall deer demon standing in the door way. You instantly recognized that face, those clothes, and the cocky expression._

_It was the radio demon._

\---

"hell-" Charlie immediately slams the door in his face, eyes shooting to your own as you find yourself to be standing nearly frozen in place.

She opens the door again just long enough for him to finish greeting, "lo!-" before she slams it on his face again. Charlie then calls for the moth demon, "Vaggie?" The girl you now knew as Vaggie replied, "what?" in an annoyed tone. 

"The radio demon is at the door," Charlie says with a forced smile, "What?" Vaggie exclaims worriedly, the spider demon only saying, "uh, who?"

"What should I do?" Charlie asks, pulling her cheeks down in worry, Vaggie scoffs, "Well don't let him in!"

Charlie pointedly looks at the door before opening it once again, much to your's and Vaggie's dismay, which allows the radio demon to finally finish what hes been trying to say.

"May I speak now?" he asks, "You may," Charlie puts, before being cut off by the deer demon, "Alastor!" he shoots out his arm for her to shake, "pleasure to be meeting you sweetheart! Quite a pleasure." He brushes past her form into the hotel exuberantly "excuse my sudden visit, but I saw your fiasco in the picture show! And I just couldn't resist, what a performance!" he nearly swoons just next to you, making you take a few steps back from him.

"Why I haven't been that entertained since the stock market crash of nineteen-twenty-nine!" he laughs, walking towards the lobby, "so many orphans-"

He only stops his eternal yapping when Vaggie runs up to him with a spear pointed at his neck, "Stop right there! Cabron hijo de perra, I know your game, and I'm not gonna let you hurt anyone here, you pompous, cheesy, talk-show shitlord!" He laughs at her seemingly frugal attempt at getting him out of the hotel, "Dear, if I wanted to hurt anyone here," his eyes turned to radio dials, and you could feel your blood run cold, "I would've done so already." It seemed like all kinds of demonic shapes and auras emitted from the guy, a shiver ran down your spine at the sight of him.

He shook his head, "Now I'm here because I want to help!" the two girls looked at him unconvinced, "say what now?" Charlie spoke up.

"Help!" he leaned into their space, "hello! is this thing on? testing, testing!" he tapped his microphone, a big eye opening from the place he tapped, "well I heard you loud and clear!"

"You want to help? with-" he interrupted her again, "with this ridiculous thing you're trying to do! This hotel! I want to help you run it." he finished, the large grin he wore cementing it's place on his features. 

You scoffed at his want to "help", Charlie questioned, "uh, why?" he laughed, "why does anyone do anything? sheer, absolute, boredom! I've lacked inspiration for decades, my work became mundane, lacking focus, aimless!" he shoves Vaggie to the side, "I've come to crave a new form of entertainment!" he laughs.

"does getting into a fist fight with a reporter count as entertainment?" Charlie asks nervously, Alastor merely laughs at this, "It's the purest kind my dear, reality! true passion! After all, the world is a stage, and the stage is a world of entertainment." he says, smiling into the sentence while his voice slightly cleared of static, the whole display making your heart skip a beat.

Charlie looked to Alastor hopefully, "So, does this mean you think it's, possible to rehabilitate a demon?" he laughs at her display, "of course not! that's wacky nonsense. Redemption- Oh! the nonexistent humanity, nononono, I don't think there's anything left that can save such loathsome sinners!" You, Angel and Vaggie grimaced at his jab to the three of you, "The chance given was the life they lived before, the punishment is this!" he gestured widely to the hotel, "There is no undoing what is done."

"So," Charlie interjected, "Then why do you want to help me if you don't believe in my cause?" He cracked a devilish smile, "Consider it an investment in ongoing entertainment for myself! I want to watch the scum of the world struggle to climb up the hill of betterment, only to repeatedly trip and tumble down to the fiery pit of failure." Charlie took the radio-host's claw off of her shoulder, "Riggght," He nodded, "Yes indeedy! I see big things coming your way and who better to help you then-" his voice trailed off as you walked over to the couch to sit with Vaggie and Angel.

"So uh," Angel started to gesture to Alastor, "whats the deal with smiles over there?" 

"Wait, You've never heard of him before?" the two of you both said, a look of surprise on both of your faces.

"You've been longer than me!" Vaggie commented, Angel simply shrugging towards the two of you.

"The radio demon," you started, Vaggie nodding along, "One of the most powerful beings hell has ever seen."

"eh, not big on politics," he crossed a set of his arms.

Vaggie sighed, "decades ago, Alastor manifested in hell, seemingly overnight." she gestured a bit to emphasize her point, "He had begun to topple overlords who had been dominant for centuries. That kind of raw power had never been harnessed by a mortal soul before. Then he broadcast his carnage all throughout hell, just so everyone could witness his ability. Sinners started calling him, the radio demon"

You then added, "as lazy as that is,"

Vaggie nodded, "Many have speculated what unimaginable force enabled him to rival our world's most ancient and destructive evils. But one things for sure, he's an unpredictable source of danger, a wicked spirit of mystery, and a violent monster of chaos the likes of which we can't risk getting involved with unless we want to end up erased."

"ya done?" Angel commented, beginning to laugh, "he looks like a strawberry pimp!"

You laughed a bit at his remark, "well, I don't trust him." Vaggie replied.

"to be fair," he started, looking at her with a smug face, "do you trust any man? Any men? Men?"

Vaggie looked at him tiredly before leaving the two of you on the couch to talk to Charlie.

"Charlie! listen to me. You can't believe this creep," she side eyed him, "he isn't just a happy face! he's a deal maker, pure evil. He can't be redeemed, and is most likely looking for a way to destroy everything we're trying to do." you hated to eavesdrop, but you wanted to know more of everyone at the hotel respectively.

Charlie countered, "I, uh, we don't know that, look! I know he's bad and I know he probably doesn't wanna change, but the whole point of this is to give people a chance. To have faith things will be better, how can I turn someone away? I can't. It goes against everything I'm trying to do. Everything I believe in." she put her hands on Vaggie's shoulders, "just, trust me, I can take care of myself."

"Charlie, whatever you do, do not make a deal with him." The two looked over at him, "Don't worry, I picked up one thing from my dad," she imitated his voice, "You don't take shit from other demons."

You tuned out most of what was being said, until Alastor perks up, "So it's a deal then?" green light starts to emanate from his hand, and the lot of you struggle to stand against the sudden winds of his power, yest Charlie cuts it off, "Nope! No shaking, no deals, I-" she nervously sighs, "as princess of hell and heir to the throne I uh- hereby order that you help with this hotel, for as long as you desire." Vaggie shifts on her toes, "Sound fair?"

Alastor pretends to think for a moment, "Fair enough!"

"cool beans," Charlie mutters, giving him two, very nervous, thumbs up.

You and Angel dust walk over to the concierge stand, both relatively fed up with whatever the hell was going on. You lay your head on hand, sighing into your palm.

Angel looks over to you, "So I uh, never got yer name toots," you look over to him and straighten yourself out to be level with him, extending your hand, "My name's y/n," he smirked while taking your hand.

"Sure you already know me," he fluffed up his chest fur, "the name's Angel Dust." You nodded, already knowing his name.

Alastor walks up to the two of you before you can continue the conversation, "And what can you do my effeminate fellow?"

He gives him a once over before replying, "I can suck ya dick."

Alastor's smile freezes, "Ha! No."

"Yer loss," Angel finishes, enticing a laugh out of you as he grins to face you.

Alastor then looks over to you, obviously questioning everyone in the hotel, "Now I'm just hoping you don't do whatever this ruffian does?" 

"I'm here for the whole redemption thing?" you slowly reply, clearly not interested in helping out.

He only sighs at you before turning around, "well this just won't do! I suppose I can cash in a few favors to liven things up." he says with a snap.

The fire place sparks to life, only to show an array of flames and get fixed up in an instant, all before a small black being seems to nest within the fire. He reaches down to pick it up, and when he does, a big eye opens up from the tiny form before the black ash dusts off of the little being, showing a small dress, single large eye, and a cute short hairstyle. 

Alastor then introduces the small girl while dropping her to the ground, "This little darling is Niffty!"

"Hi! I'm Niffty!" She waves, "It's nice to meet you! It's been a while since I've made new friends."

She gestures to the lot of you, "Why are you all women?" She picks up Charile to look under her, "Are any men here?! Sorry, that was rude. Oh man! This place is filthy, it really needs a lady's touch which is weird because you're all ladies, no offense," She says while scattering around the hotel, lightly dusting as she talks, "Oh my gosh, this is awful!" She then proceeds to clean while saying offhanded comments whenever she finds something out of the ordinary.

"Hah! Read em and weep boys, full- ohhhhh" A taupe, winged cat demon says from the right of where you all were standing. 

A seemingly bar setting complete with a pool table appears in the middle of the hotel, transforming the concierge stand into a bar table.

"The hell? What the fuck is this?" The demon looks up and points to Alastor, "you."

"Ah! Husker, my good friend, glad you could make it!" he purrs.

"Don't you husker me, you son of a bitch, I was about to win the whole damn pot!" He gestures to a stack of money and chips that disappears due to Alastor's power.

"Good to see you too!" Alastor smirks

The cat slaps his clawed hand to his face, "what the hell do you want from me this time?" He asks, sitting at the pool table.

"My friend, I am doing some charity work, so I took it upon myself to volunteer your services," he waves his hand, "I hope that's okay."

"Are you shittin me?" Husk growls.

"Hm," Alastor begins with a smug grin, "No, I don't think so!"

Husk gets Alastor off of him, while flaring his wings out, "You thought it would be some kind of big fuckin' riot just to pull me outta nowhere?" You flinched a bit at his yelling, "You think I'm some kinda fuckin' clown?"

He hesitates for a moment, "maybe." a large grin become evident on his face.

"I ain't doin no fuckin' charity job," Husk growls just before the demon appears next to him, holding him flush against his own body, you felt bad for the cat.

Alastor spoke up, "well I figured you'd be the perfect face to man the front desk of this fine establishment!" he motioned towards the bar, a small welcome sign above it.

"With your charming smile and welcoming energy, this job was made for you!" he forced husk's face into a smile before swiftly turning around to head to the bar.

"Don't worry my friend, I can make this more welcoming, if you wish." he spoke, his voice getting abruptly clear at the end of his sentence while his arm swiped to reveal a bottle of "cheap booze".

"What? You think you can buy me with a wink and some cheap booze?" Husk said in an accusatory manor, mocking his gestures, "Well ya can!" he finished, grabbing the bottle and gulping down it's contents.

"Hey! Hey, Hey Hey Hey, no bar! No alcohol! This is supposed to be a place that discourages sin! Not some kind of brothel, man cave!-" Vaggie gets tackled to the ground by Angel, "Shut up! Shut. Up! We are keeping this." he aggravates, pointing towards the bar.

He quickly gets up and snuggles up to Husk, "hey~" he coos.

"Go fuck yerself," Husk replies, grimacing.

"Only if you watch me~" he holds Husk's face in his hand, startling the cat and causing his wings to spread.

Charlie runs up to him, arm outstretched for him to shake, "Oh my gosh! Welcome to the happy hotel! You are going to love it here!"

He only grabs his liquor, gulping it down, after saying "I lost the ability to love years ago." 

You decided to not introduce yourself after that last remark, instead only waving at him lightly to which he responded to with a shrug.

"So," Alastor walks up to Charlie, hitting you with his shoulder, "what do you think?"

"This is amazing!" she replies, rubbing her cheeks as a grin paints over her features.

Vaggie chimes in, "It's, okay."

Alastor grabs the two ladies into a lean, "This is going to be very entertaining!"

The moth demon sweeps out from under his hold, which he merely laughs at before shoving her to the side while bursting into song.

His clothes transform into something of a more formal piece of attire, "You have a dream, you wish to tell," he spins charlie, transforming her hair and clothes into a dress and up-do.

He leans down to Vaggie, "and it's just laughable, but hey kid! what the hell!" and throws Charlie into the air, a chorus of instruments behind his voice.

"Cause you're one of a kind! A charming demon belle!" he grabs her hand, gliding down the stairs with her.

"Now lets give these burning fools a place to dwell," he snaps, transforming everyone's clothes into that of fitting attire for his time, giving Vaggie a full length dress, Angel a proper suit and tie, Niffty a sweet dress and bowler hat, Husk a pair of suspenders, and you, a sequenced dress with your hair in an up-do.

"Take it boys!" he snaps again, a few demons emerging from the floor and bursting into a band of instruments, while Vaggie attempts to get Charlie's attention, only for Alastor to pull her, and everyone else excluding Charlie into a strange hug of his minions.

"Inside of every demon, is a lost cause," he sings, placing hats onto Husk's and Angel's head, the former flipping him off, and the latter sending him finger guns.

"but we'll dress em up for now, with just a smile!" He says while summoning a hat and fox-scarf onto Vaggie before slapping her ass, Angering her as his minions echo him.

"Oh we'll ornate this cesspool with some old redemption flair, and show these simpletons some proper class and style!"

He dances to the fire place, summoning more minions to sing with him.

"Here below the ground! I'm sure your plan is sound!" He spins Charlie, and proceeds to pinch her cheeks.

"They'll spend a little time, down at this hazbin ho-" Alastor sings, getting interrupted by the door flying past both him and most of the residents, only to land straight onto Niffty.

All of your new clothes disappear as you look through the huge gap in the wall, to see a large zeppelin just outside of the hotel. You all walk out to inspect it further, just in time to see a snake demon pop out of the window hatch, "Ha! Well, well, well, look who it is harboring the striped freak!" he hisses with each "S" he pronounces, "We meet yet again, Alastor."

You crack a small grin to see the over-exaggerated expressions of the snake, "Do I, know you?" Alastor questions, tilting his head to side.

"Oh yes you do!" he slithers to the side into his seat, "and this time I have the element of, surprise!"

He pulls on a lever and triggers a large cannon to release from the bottom of the air ship, pointed directly at the lot of you.

He laughs, "I'm so evil!"

Alastor snaps his fingers, opening up a portal just below the zeppelin that releases an onslaught of tentacles to destroy the ship. He clutches his hand and focuses his will onto the ship, blowing into smithereens in an awesome display of his power. He wears a devilish grin that envelops most of his face, showing off his sickly black gums and a strange x mark between his eyes. The rest of the residents stare at him in disbelief including you, an awful sense of fear, and dread boiling into the pits of your stomach, every single hair on you body standing on end in pure shock.

Alastor immediately snaps out of his hair raising grin, turning around to meet all of your eyes, "Well I'm starved! Who wants some jambalaya, my mother once showed me a wonderful recipe for jambalaya, in fact, it nearly killed her!" he laughs, everyone following behind him as he heads into the hotel, you trailing behind with your arms crossed, "You could say the kick was right out of hell! Oh, I'm on a roll!"

You grimace at all of the carnage the snake demon caused, your fingers messing with the seems of your shirt as feeling of tiredness from all of the stress for the day washes over you. 

You drag yourself into the hotel after everyone and close the door behind you, seeing Charlie, Vaggie, and Alastor talking while Angel and Husk are at the bar, the latter trying to shoo the spider demon away. You fiddle with your hands as you silently walk up to Charlie, tapping her should as you whisper, "Do you mind giving me a room key? I'm sorry I'm just awfully tired and I-" she cuts you off, "oh of course of course! You should've asked sooner." 

She mumbles a shorthanded goodbye to the other demons and leads you to a small stand holding hundreds of keys of all shapes and sizes, she grabs a key in a strangely cute shape with a small engraving of the room number on the back of it. She smiles up at you as she puts the delicate key into your palms, "I really hope you like it here. Sleep well." You nod along, muttering a quiet thank you under your breath as the smallest of smiles graces your lips.

She pats your hands that have closed around the key and trots off to continue talking with Vaggie and Alastor. You smile down at her as she walks and proceed to refocus your attention to the key and its room number. It read 546, and with little confusion you found the elevator that listed which floors held which rooms, and if you were correct, you'd be heading to the 6th floor. 

You nervously stepped into the elevator, noticing how it looked worn down and used judging by the grease on the many, many buttons and small chips in the wallpaper of the small space. Your fingers hovered over the buttons before firmly planting onto the fifth button. You started raising up into the confines of the hotel with a small jolt and flicker of the lights, making you swallow with a keen sense of uncertainty.

Thankfully the elevator didn't stop with any delay and got you to your floor safely. You stepped out into a dimly lit hallway of the hotel, the elevator doors quickly snapping shut at your leave, nearly nipping the ends of your tail. You jumped at this before turning around to see which way you should go to find your room. You looked to your left to see the lesser numbers and to your right to see the higher numbers, remembering your lower number you started on the left, and with a rise in your heart saw your room come into view only 4 doors down.

The old, rickety nature of the hotel's red carpeted hallways and drab decorations left you eager to enter your room, and with little persuasion, you got your key into the key hole, quickly turning it to enter, only to be met with a splendid display of pinks, creams, and golds showering the confines of your room. You gasp lightly as you trace the freshly painted walls with your nails, taking in the exquisite nature of the carefully carved wood of your bed's frame, poles on each corner curling elegantly to the ceiling, dusts of gold flecked onto the carvings which depicted scenes of battles and victories between demons. You smiled softly at the room, Charlie must have given you a suite, it was simply too beautiful to be anything but.

You sighed as you entered the bathroom, soft pink tiling lined the floor, and a regal looking sink left you wondering if you were even allowed to use such nice things. You looked down at the sinks edge to see a complimentary toothbrush, toothpaste, and just about everything else. You gladly looked up into the mirror, only to be a little displeased at how disheveled you looked. Grabbing a complimentary cotton pad, you wiped away your foundation and eye shadow to reveal your many freckles lining your tanned sink. You turned the skin only to splash water onto your face, quickly scrubbing away all the makeup and grime that had been caked onto your face.

You looked back up into the mirror and smiled, showing off your large, bear like canines and then fiddled with your short, wavy bob, making sure to keep special care of your bear ears on either side of your head. Your small, black nose twitched at the water you just splashed onto your face, and you grabbed the toothbrush and paste to clean your sharp teeth.

Satisfied with your "self care" you flopped onto the bed, taking special note on how unbelievably comfortable it was. Was this hell? Cause it sure felt like heaven.

You felt a twinge of discomfort when you remembered you didn't exactly have pajamas to sleep in. You sighed into a few curses and grumbles as you snaked off your dress and heels you'd been wearing. You'd have to sleep in just you underwear that night, not like it particularly bothered you at all, though. 

With a sigh, you flopped back into your new bed and quickly reached over to your bedside table to turn your lamp off, sending the room into an almost warm, pitch black.

Grabbing the pillow and fluffing it lightly, you laid your head onto it, letting a breath out that you were holding back, falling into a deep sleep within minutes

\---

You woke up with a groan, the harsh, red beam of hell's sun shining into your room, and directly into your oh-so-tired eyes.

You smacked your lips, sighing with the displeasure of a complete lack of any water in your room, excluding the sinks, of course. You lazily stood, and reluctantly pulled on your old dress, making sure to adjust your breasts into the cups while looking into your new vanity, carefully placing your hair back into place.

You smiled lightly at your appearance, satisfied with your look as you slipped your black heels back onto your feet. Grabbing your phone and slipping it into a secret pocket of your dress, you left your room, easily slipping into the elevator you became lightly accustomed to, and headed for the lobby. 

You walked out of the elevator, slightly speed walking to the door when Charlie rushed to you, a grin plastered onto her face.

"Hi! Good morning! How was your first night?" You smiled at her, "It was wonderful Charlie, I swear you gave me a suite, I slept so good."

She grinned at you, slightly nodding along with your words, "I'm so glad you liked it!" She held your hand in hers for a moment, giving it a soft pat before asking you a question, "Oh! and where exactly are you going? It's only seven."

You laughed a bit at the time, you didn't even realize you woke up so early it must have been from going to bed early as well.

"I thought I'd get a head start by going to grab my things at my old apartment," you explained, gaining an understanding nod from her.

"Oh alright, don't be too long now!" you smiled as a response as you walked out of the hotel, taking a deep breath of fresh air, only to quickly climb into a cab you called down.

\---

"Last bag," you guffawed, thanking your gab driver with a handsome tip as he helped you with your final bag of possessions. It had taken nearly half the day, but you managed to pack up your entire apartment, that was fairly sparse to begin with, and everything else that you threw out. 

You walk into the hotel with quite a few bags only to be greeted by Charlie.

"Oh, y/n! let me help you with that!" 

"Charlie! You couldn't possibly, I-"

Alastor swiftly interrupted the exchange with a snap, sending all of your bags to your room, only managing to give him a nervous smile as thanks.

He laughed at your small expression, while Charlie quietly thanked him, quickly turning her attention back to you.

She began to ramble on about her day, and asking you genuine questions about how you were, and you would have listened, you really would have, but while Alastor had been helping you, you noticed Husk, out of all the demons, working the bar. A tangible feeling of sadness emanated from his gruff being, and you wanted nothing more in that moment to just, talk to him. You only wanted to-

"y/n?"

Charlie snapped you out of your thoughts.

"Oh! Charlie," you laughed, a bit embarrassed, "sorry, I was just uh," you glanced at the cat demon, "a little distracted. But please, do go on."

She smiled a bit nervously at you, but escorted you to your room nonetheless, finally giving you the chance to hear her without your little distraction.

"Well, It's been a pleasure talking to you." you smiled.

"It sure has! See you for dinner?" she bounced on her toes

"Oh, I'm afraid not, I'll be going to a show tonight."

Her smile faltered slightly, "That's fine, I hope you have fun."

She skipped away to the elevator, swiftly walking in and leaving you in your door way. 

"I sure hope I do."


	3. It had to be you

_"Well, It's been a pleasure talking to you." you smiled._

_"It sure has! See you for dinner?" she bounced on her toes_

_"Oh, I'm afraid not, I'll be going to a show tonight."_

_Her smile faltered slightly, "That's fine, I hope you have fun."_

_She skipped away to the elevator, swiftly walking in and leaving you in your door way._

_"I sure hope I do."_

_\---_

You straightened your posture, a small sigh leaving your lips as you walked back into your room, locking the door behind you. Scanning your floor, your eyes meet with a small, leather bag to the side of your bed. With a huff, you picked it up and set it on your bed, walking over to your vanity to see all of your makeup and brushes neatly laid out, at least Alastor was polite. Grabbing a few brushes and products, you placed them into a small compartment of the bag, quickly walking over to your closet to look for what you'd be wearing on stage that night.

Opening your sliding closet, all neatly arranged thanks to Alastor, you sifted through the many skirts, tops, and dresses to find a dazzling black sequenced dress with matching black gloves. You picked it up with a smile, slowly shifting it in your hands to see the sparkling nature of it's fabric.

You neatly folded it in your bag, setting a pair of satin high heels on top, making sure they lay flat before snapping the bag into place with small clasps. You walked to your vanity, smiling at your reflection, fluffing your hair as you did, "I have a feeling this performance is gonna be a good one!"

_\---_

"God dammnit-" you muttered, messing up your eyeliner for the third time that night. 

You quickly grabbed makeup wipes and cleaned your smeared look before drawing right back over it to finish your cat eye, and thankfully, by the mercy of Lucifer, you finally got it to look even.

A knock on your door made you jump, "Hurry up in there ya broad! You're up in two," A gruff voice said, must've been a stage hand or something of the other.

Grabbing your sheen gloves from your bag, you slipped them on, adjusting your fingers into the silky material, clinking the tip of your heel onto the floor.

You glanced in the mirror, placing a few strands of hair into the rest of the bunch before straightening back out, trotting to the door and opening it, only to get met with a blast of cigar smoke and cheap liquor. You think you would've grown a tolerance after six decades, but you still had to try your best to suppress a cough festering in the back of your throat. Your careful gloved fingers traced the rusted railing as you walked up the stairs, hesitant in an effort to not trip on your dress. Deciding to then swiftly scan the back of the stage and red curtains, which shielded you from the harsh lights and stares practically oozing from the rest of the bar, even behind the thick fabric.

You stepped into the middle of the stage, taking in a nervous breath while smoothing down your dress, brushing off the stares of seedy demons that prepared the show in the back.

A shaky voice crept into the speakers, "Now, I'm happy to announce what you all have been waiting for," he cleared his throat, "y/n, l/n!" He finished, the curtains getting slowly pulled back as you walked forward, revealing your elegant form.

A few demons cheered, while others whistled, some even booed, but nonetheless, you forced a smile onto your velvety black lips, small hands grabbing the microphone, "how're y'all doin' tonight?" you opened, using the same line you had used countless times before, some how never getting old.

They cheered a bit louder, especially when you fluttered your eyelashes, making sure to blow them a kiss and a wink.

Your silky gloves gripped the metal in your hands as you began to sing.

"When marimba rhythm starts to play," you began, blinking against the harsh stage lights as you sauntered around the edge of stage.

"Dance with me, make me sway," you moved your hips to the background music, "Like the lazy ocean hugs the shore,"

Demons jeered, "Hold me close, sway me more," 

"like a flower bending in the breeze, bend with me, sway with ease," you continued, dipping down to a particular demon who, unfortunately, sandwiched a bill in between your breasts.

You faked a smile at him, taking it out of your cleavage, "When we dance, you have a way with me," another soul tried to grab your foot, "Stay with me, sway with me,"

"other dances may be on the floor," you walked back to the center of the stage, "Dear, but my eyes will see only you,"

You placed the microphone back into its place in the holder, "Only you have that magic technique, when we sway, I grow weak," you bent into the end, fluttering your eyelashes.

"I can hear the sounds of violins," you strained, attempting to sing over many demons whistling at your last move, "Long before it begins, make me thrill as only you know how,"

They calmed, "Sway me smooth, sway me now," you moved your hips and shoulders to your own singing, "Other dancers may be on the floor, dear, but my eyes will see only you,"

You pointed to the mosh pit of demons, "Only you have that magic technique, when we sway, I grow weak,"

"I can hear the sound of violins, long before it begins," you popped your hip out, arm stretching to the chandelier, exposing most of your leg, "Make me thrill as only you know how, sway me smooth, sway me now."

A bustle of the sinners jeered, whistled, and threw drinks or money to the stage, the only thing you responded with was a shaky smile, and your next song.

\---

You grasp the microphone, hands shaking a bit, "Thank you all so much for coming out tonight," you pressed your gloved hands to your lips, quickly extending your hand to blow a kiss.

"Bye, bye, now," you finished, sauntering off the stage, your smile breaking right when the curtains fell, your shaking hands running through you hair.

"fuck," you murmured, sitting at the bottom of the filthy steps, head held in your hands. You hated your performances now, they used to be nice, used to be more lighthearted. Now they made you want to gag, want to rip your hair out for standing it, for doing it for the money. The demons watching your little shows always tried to grab you, tried to rip you off the stage, always jabbing disgusting remarks to you about your body, about what they wanted to do to you.

You almost broke that night.

You almost broke down on stage, you couldn't do another one of those damn performances, or sing one of those awful, cheesy songs that the bar always recommended you to sing. 

You thought this would be temporary, that all of the erotic performances would jump start your career, that they would push you into what you really wanted to be, your own person. You never thought you'd be doing this for six decades.

You pushed on your knees, propelling you upwards. You sighed as you walked to your dressing room, eyeing the bugs that crawled over the concrete floors, and the cracks in its surface. You pushed on the door, swinging it open, before plopping yourself down on the stool in front of the vanity. You mumbled a curse under your breath as you grabbed makeup wipes, making sure to remove the caked on foundation from your skin.

You slouched into the seat as you finished removing the makeup, taking all your hair into a loose, messy bun before standing to rummage through your bag. You grabbed a small, black spaghetti strapped tank top and pair of grey baggy sweatpants. You weakly smiled at the comfortable outfit before slipping it onto your tall form.

You sighed in satisfaction, quickly pulling all of your possessions into the bag before leaving the old, grimy dressing room. Other demons eyed your painfully casually form, giving you the once over before sneering at your more than exhausted features. 

You turned the knob of the back door exit, taking in a deep breath of fresh air as you looked up into the starless, hellish night sky. You smiled faintly, hand readjusting its grip on your bag, before starting your walk back to the hotel. No matter how many times you had tried to convince yourself, you still loved hells night sky, even if it looked positively maroon, instead of a brilliant blue, it stood out in its own way.

Your tennis shoes hit the sidewalk softly, a small breeze running through your hair, doing little to calm your aching nerves, and if even the sky wouldn't help you right now, maybe it was finally the time to pay the hotels bar a visit.

\---

You pushed on the hotels front door lightly, head poking into the gap as you looked around, it had taken longer than you thought it would take to walk back, and by the looks of it, everyone had already gone to sleep, so much for a drink. You felt a bit defeated until you fully walked into the establishment, now able to fully see that the cat demon was still manning the bar. 

You took a sharp intake of air, swiftly walking over to the bar, a drink idea already popping into your head as you slapped your bag onto the floor, alerting the half asleep bar tender.

"Jesus!" he sharply looked up to you, his brows tightly knit, "Fuck, don't fucking do that so late," he held his head in his clawed hands, a few beer bottles emptied beside him.

You muttered an even tireder, "sorry."

He looked up to you, brows still knit, "what do ya want anyhow?"

"a bourbon," you quickly replied, "oh yeah, can I smoke here?" you added, already fishing a pack of cigarettes and lighter out of your bag.

He slowly nods, hands sluggishly reaching over to the bottle you requested, eyes trained on you out of pure confusion as he let out a small laugh that was in his throat, "I had no idea you'd be the type to drink er anything," you looked up to him, lighting your cigarette, "ya just seem so," he hesitated, thinking of the right word, "Not tha type."

you smiled weakly, taking a few puffs of the tobacco, "I get that a lot."

He finishes your drink silently, sliding it over to you as he cracked open his own beer.

You quickly grab the glass, taking a mighty swig of the alcohol, a warm sensation lining your throat, giving you a minute buzz.

He winces at your harsh eyebags, and worn out expression.

You notice his staring, "so, your names Husk, right?"

He nods, albeit a bit gruffly, "my name is y/n, I don't do the whole nickname thing," you gesture your hand, taking another puff from your cigarette.

He stares at your shaken up form, noting your messied hair, remnants of glittery makeup, and catches a peak of the sequenced dress in your bag, "So uh, what the hell were ya doin'?"

You look up to him, a bit surprised he was interested, "Did a gig at a bar, jus singing n shit," he nods, already having an idea you had done something to do with entertainment, "It's fuckin terrible," you finish, rubbing you eyes in your hands, a sad smile on your lips.

He nods, understanding your discomfort, "how long have you been working?" you quickly reply, "sixty-four years."

He takes a sharp intake of breath, not expecting the sheer length of your career, "sheesh, now that's a long time," you nod, taking another long swig of your drink.

Husk takes a few sips of his beer, eyes now trained on the tv lightly playing in the bar, your eyes also occasionally darting to the melodramatic drama playing on the screen.

You go to take another drink out of your glass, quickly noting nothing was left, "I'll uh," you scratch your neck, a bit embarrassed, "see you around?" he nods as you put out your cigarette.

"see ya," he murmurs, eyes quickly training back onto the tv, his beer never leaving his tired lips.

You sigh, standing up off the bar stool, grabbing your bag and heading for the lobby staircase, the elevator flush next to the stairwell.

You lazily tap your desired button, feeling the uncomfortable jolt and flicker of the elevator, before ascending to your floor. You slouch in your place, a yawn leaving your lips when the elevator dings to signal you've reached the wanted spot.

You quickly walk out of the confined space, being overtly mindful of the quickness of the doors closing. The doors close with a snap, only minimally catching you off guard, you thread a finger through your hair, trotting off to your room.

Your tired fingers fish through your mess of a purse in a try to fin your key, thankfully finding it fast, you unlock your room, gliding in and give the light switch a click.

You sigh at the sweetly colored room, a few empty suitcases lay in the corner, and your bed lay a tad messed up, but none of it mattered, you instantly felt better by just looking at the comfort your new room brought. Walking over to your vanity, you set your bag onto the small table, padding over your cream colored carpet to your white bed, flopping face first into its covers, giving a small spring back from the force.

You faintly smiled into the sheets, letting out a deep breath you didn't know you were holding in. Slowly sitting up, your hand fumbled up to your bra straps clinging to your back, fumbling with the clasps until you got the underwear off, your baggy sweatpants following closely along onto the floor just next to your bed.

You re-positioned yourself, snuggling your face into the pillows of your bed, hand tugging on your lamps string, turning off your rooms lights.

Fluttering your eyes open, you looked up to see the black mass of night, glancing over to your open window, what must have been a thousand sparkling lights staring back at you from the city, honks from cars speeding down freeways complimenting the bustle of the city.

You hated to admit it, but sometimes hell didn't seem half bad, when you weren't doing god awful performances, that is.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for reading this story! Sorry that this chapter is quite a bit shorter than the last, I really just wanted to finish the pilots sequence in the last chapter, making it much longer than intended. I plan for chapters to be around this length or greater. Thanks for the support, see you in the next one!


	4. The touch of your lips

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey y'all! just came in to edit in a little blurb of what reader looks like and where you can find more info on her. I most often post about this story on my tumblr, and may also start posting about it on my twitter. https://ashitpos-t.tumblr.com/post/616586235758133248/may-have-finished-a-little-ref-sheet-for-reader-i <\-- this link will take you to her new ref sheet, hope this helps! (feel free to change the overall colors of her design, but please leave her overall shapes (???) alone, they are kind of important to the story!)

_You faintly smiled into the sheets, letting out a deep breath you didn't know you were holding in. Slowly sitting up, your hand fumbled up to your bra straps clinging to your back, fumbling with the clasps until you got the underwear off, your baggy sweatpants following closely along onto the floor just next to your bed._

_You re-positioned yourself, snuggling your face into the pillows of your bed, hand tugging on your lamps string, turning off your rooms lights._

_Fluttering your eyes open, you looked up to see the black mass of night, glancing over to your open window, what must have been a thousand sparkling lights staring back at you from the city, honks from cars speeding down freeways complimenting the bustle of the city._

_You hated to admit it, but sometimes hell didn't seem half bad, when you weren't doing god awful performances, that is._

_\---_

You got up with a small start, arm shooting over your head to stretch from the long, lumbering sleep you had just experienced. Hell's bright sun was diffused by passing clouds, the dappled lighting dancing onto your more than tired features, a faint smile accompanying the tiredness at the sight.

Sure, hell had blood red skies, shit clubs, and even shittier people, but it had been your home for decades, if you could even call it that.

You sighed as you slipped out of bed, eyeing the bathroom that you swiftly stepped into, turning on the skin to let the warm water run over your hands, before splashing some onto your face, your free hand searching for the face wash you earnestly needed. After grabbing the bottle, you scrubbed your face of any dirt that had accumulated over the previous day, a refreshing scent of lavender wafting from the suds.

You breathed into your palms, sink now off, as you padded for the hand towel, eyes sealed shut when you finally dabbed the water free from your face.

You blinked, looking at your appearance in the mirror, hands quickly traveling under your sink, gripping the curling iron you planned to use on your hair, eager on giving it some kind of volume. You plugged in the iron, deciding to do your makeup as it heated up. 

You trotted to your vanity, turning on its bright lights before you, sat comfortably on your vanity's stool. Opening you bag of makeup to pick out concealer, mascara, and lip gloss, you definitely weren't going for a glam look today, why would you? It's not like any of the inhabitants of the hotel would care, if anything, they urged you to feel at home, thought it made you feel better, or something like that.

You quickly applied the concealer to your under eyes, removing the unsightly bags from a relatively poor nights sleep, you couldn't even remember the last night you slept well. Next, you grabbed your mascara, lightly flicking your wrist just on your eyelashes, applying thin amounts of product to them. Lastly, you unscrewed your lip gloss, smearing the product to your lips elegantly, making sure to reach every surface, finalizing it with a satisfying pop of your lips.

A small beep knocked you out of your trance, and you immediately registered it to be your curling iron.

You stood, placing the sealed gloss onto the table, your small tail swaying with anticipation as you entered the bathroom, you have always had fun doing your hair, for whatever reason, you just found it, therapeutic, in a strange sense.

Hand gripping the iron, you sectioned off a piece of hair, carefully wrapping it around the heated metal, giving it a few seconds before letting go to reveal a curl that bounced in your sudden recoil. You smiled, happy at the outcome. With a tail wag, you continued to curl the rest of your hair, sending a comb to dissipate the sheer volume of the hairstyle, just to be left with beachy waves, definitely a win in your book. You smiled at the mirror, satisfied with your hair and makeup, which funnily enough, would be the most formal thing out of your outfit, never mind how blatantly casual it was. You had already planned out to wear grey sweatpants and a white tank top for the day, you almost always wore something similar to that, and decided that today wasn't any different from the previous.

You walked over to your closet, pushing open the sliding mirrored doors to see an array of different colored garments you've worn on many a different occasion. Your fingers lingered over the outfit you had planned, carefully grabbing a hold of the clothes before closing the closet once again.

Your manicured nails traced over the seams of of your comfy attire, you smiled to yourself, carefully undressing your striped pajamas from your body before slipping on your outwear, honestly excited for the day at hand. Your tail wagged and your ears perked at the happiness, your hand outstretching to the door nob, turning it before closing it behind you, quickly locking the door before prancing to the elevator. 

You walked in, a small smile painted onto your face as you pressed the button for the first floor, the elevator jolting before descending to your destination. The elevator skidded to a stop, its worn out light flickering madly before returning to its normal function. The doors slammed open, and you stride out, being especially mindful of its snapping doors.

"Good morning!" a female voice greets, prompting you to look over to the sound.

Charlie was waving to you boisterously from the kitchen, while Vaggie waved faintly, a small smile on her face, which you quickly returned.

Just behind the pair, you spied two tufts of black and red fur which you instantly recognized to be Alastor's ears, glancing over to your right, you saw Husk sitting at the glass coffee table, staring mindlessly at the tv as he scooped cereal into his mouth. You smiled, glad you could eat with everyone, but before you grabbed yourself a bowl of cereal, you walked to Charlie, keen on asking her a question.

"Good morning Charlie," you grinned, tapping her shoulder, "would you mind if I got myself some breakfast?" 

She smiled, "oh of course of course! Feel free to get anything you'd like!" she enthused, Vaggie nodding along, albeit less interested.

You walked past the two into the kitchen, seeing Alastor frying a few eggs by the stove, as you grabbed a bowl and spoon from their respective cabinets. Alastor simply side eyed you, seeming as though he didn't particularly see the point in greeting you, the way his somehow unenthused smile looked to be slightly lessened told you all you needed to know.

You felt a shiver roll down your spine due to his gaze, yet you tried your best to not show it, instead distracting yourself with what cereal to get. Scanning the array of different boxes and bins of cereal, you pondered which one to choose, and ended up deciding on a sugary, marshmallow filled cereal. 

You smiled to yourself, walking over to the fridge for some milk, just to quickly take it out of the fridge and pour some into your bowl, all the while feeling the crisp coolness of the milk jug against your skin.

"Going somewhere?" you jumped at the voice, your head snapping to the source, only to see Alastor eyeing you.

You laughed, pushing down your nervousness with a smile, "oh- oh no! I'm just thought it'd be nice to pretty up for the day, have to be prepared for tomorrow, I have a recording to catch" you finished, knowing you weren't particularly convincing.

He nodded, seeming to brighten up at the thought of whatever possible entertainment you participated in, "Marvelous!" he flourished, "I do adore singing myself!" he paused, "You do sing, correct?"

You nodded, putting a strand of hair behind your ear, you never much liked talking about yourself and occupation, "It's nothing too big, not even sure if it's going on the radio," you lied.

He grinned over to you, your last remark obviously going over his head, his excitement beaming over your lie.

Before he could ask you any other questions, you resumed making your breakfast, quickly returning the jug to its place into the hotels fridge.

You looked down to your bowl of cereal, admiring the way the marshmallows swirled into the milk, dying the milk delightful shades of blues, pinks, and reds. The plainness of it made you realize how downright strange your life had become, it was weird before, but it was on a whole different level now. You lived with one of the strongest overlords in hell who was cooking eggs in the kitchen with an apron on, the princess of hell and her girlfriend, the most popular pornstar in hell, an eccentric cyclops cleaner, and an alcoholic, cat demon gambler. You smiled at the thought, looking up and scanning the room, genuinely admiring the demons you lived with. Half of them were assholes, drug addicts, cannibals, and downright crazy, but you weren't much different. You weren't adverse to smoking, drinking, and even selling out your body to other demons.

You admired these shit people, they all were strangely good people, even if their sin outweighed their virtues.

"Quit spacin out an sit," a grumbling voice said, just below you.

You snapped out of your thoughts, looking down to see Husk glaring up at you, his spoon sitting in his cereal bowl.

"Oh! I'm sorry," you sat down next to him, crossing your legs to be eye level with him, "I was just uh, zoning out."

He grumbled a curse or two under his breath, his brows knit together as he continued to eat his cereal, looking up to the tv.

A small smiled painted onto his features, he was obviously putting a tough guy look on, the gleam in his eyes showing his true intentions.

You scooped a big spoonful of cereal into your mouth, looking up to the tv, wondering what weird program was on, "Uh," you gestured your spoon towards the tv, cereal in your mouth, "whats this about?"

He glanced over to you, "Just some hick show about beating the shit out of other demons? I'm not too fucking sure either," he responded, his claw gesturing towards the tv, seemingly unimpressed.

You laughed a bit at his words and hand movements, finding his description to be a bit funny.

He only grumbled in return, quickly shoveling the cereal into his mouth, prompting you to do the same, effectively mimicking him.

You saw a small smile on his face in your peripherals, whether it was from your laughter or the show didn't matter, you never saw him happy, and for whatever reason that made you happy too.

Before you knew it, you had finished the cereal, an empty spoon reaching your mouth alerted you to your finishing, you had become enamored in the show, becoming invested in the main character, his name being Davis or something of the other.

You chuckled at yourself, looking over to see husk had finished as well, and without a second thought, you grabbed his bowl and stood, keen on heading to the sink.

Husk looked up to you, surprise written on his face, "Ya don't have to get that for me," you smiled down at him, "yea, but I want to."

He looked like he wanted to say more, but he shut his mouth, crossing his arms before hoisting himself onto the couch behind him, letting you do the work.

With pointed steps, you motioned towards the sink, eyeing the numerous dishes laying before you, and with an abrupt sigh, you left yours with the rest of the bunch, not too keen on cleaning the mountain of dishes.

You turned back around to the lobby, seeing Husk lounging on the couch and Angel finally making his way down the stairs, yawning into his hot pink gloved hand, while Charlie and Vaggie still sat at the kitchen table, talking about something you didn't care to ask about. An idea popped into your head, or better yet, a pang of guilt, it had just occurred to you that you weren't even paying Charlie for letting you stay here, much less work at the hotel.

You started for Charlie, giving her shoulder a quick tap, "Hey Charlie, is there anything I can do to help out? I mean, I'm not really doing much today," you trailed off, looking over to the side.

She perked up at your offer, smiling up at you, "I'm so glad you asked! I actually need to get some groceries, if you wouldn't mind." you nodded along.

She pulled a long piece of paper out of her bag, spanning over two regular sheets of printer paper, all jam packed with food items and other miscellaneous objects. The sheer length made your face go pale, you swallowed.

"Can I get some help with that?" you quickly said, pointing to the paper.

Her head quirked to you, her expression saying she thought it was a reasonable amount, she shrugged, "Hey Angel?" she started, "what?" he groaned in response, sounding tired, "Can you help y/n out with grocery shopping?" He groaned loudly, obviously not wanting to help.

"But I've got woooooork," he dragged out, spreading himself over the couch, his hand falling to his face, nearly swooning.

Charlie held back a sigh, knowing Angel would try to avoid anything that helped others out, "Hey Husk?" she called hesitantly, "Do you mind helping?" You heard a quick grumble, followed by Husk standing up off the couch with his arms crossed, making an effort to walk over to the three of you slower than usual.

"I'll do it," he looked to the side, before pointing to you, "but yer gonna owe me a solid, got that?" you nodded, not caring too much on whatever it would be.

Charlie smiled at Husk helping out, her expression saying she didn't expect him to even get off the couch.

You glanced over to his slouched being, noting his grumpy face and overall disposition, you almost felt guilty making him come along to the store with you.

Charlie handed the long list to you, just before grabbing a golden card from her pocket, "Here's the list," she waved the card in the air before handing it to you, "and the hotels business card! Maybe you can get yourself something," she smiled.

Your jaw hung in shock at the gold laced card, shimmering in the light, "Charlie I- are you sure?" she nodded happily, quickly turning to Vaggies side after your talk.

You stood there dumbfounded, glancing over to Husk who looked just as confused as you, neither of you knew the hotel even had a business account, let alone a card. The two of you walked to the hotels doors, quick to shuffle out into the gloomy streets of hell.

"So," you started, looking to your left and right in search of a grocery store, "you got any idea where a store is?" Husk only shrugged in response, he obviously wasn't very familiar with the place either.

You sighed, plunging your hand into your pocket in attempts to find your phone, and thankfully, you found it promptly. Opening your phone, you scrolled to goregle, typing in the nearest grocery stores that were in your area, finding a few that were only a block or two away.

"Alright, I found a store two blocks away, we might as well just walk over there," Husk nodded, seemingly not caring too much about the whole ordeal, it just seemed like he wanted to be out of there as soon as possible, but you couldn't quite blame him, it wasn't like you were friends, you barely even knew each others names.

You looked over to him, quick to notice his tightly knit brows, slouched posture, and his eyes glued to the floor, you honestly felt bad, you never much liked annoying people, or making them do things they didn't want to. You hoped he was doing this of his own personal accord, rather than only going just to get something out of you, but you really couldn't tell, as you were never very good at deciphering anyone's true intentions, especially demons you were unfamiliar with.

Husk glanced over to you, only to meet your own eyes, and upon noticing this, the two of you broke eye contact almost immediately, both unwilling to make the other uncomfortable, or even seem weird by having any kind of interest in each other. By that notion, you decided to pick up the pace, not walking only slightly faster than before, mainly in attempts to get to your destination faster and avoid any kind awkward interaction.

You'd be a liar to say you weren't embarrassed, you certainly didn't mean to stare, you just wanted to understand what was going in his head.

You felt a tap on your shoulder, looking over to see Husk gesturing to the right of you two, "This is it, right?" your gaze directed to his claw, alerting you to the large building in front of you.

You nodded, and scanned over the list, a grimace becoming apparent on your face, "Uh, why don't you grab a shopping cart too," you said, grabbing a shopping cart for yourself, setting the list into the small basket in the cart.

He grumbled in response, clearly annoyed that he had to grab his own cart, yet he obliged anyways, grabbing a cart in compliance.

You looked over the list Charlie had given you, seeing the large array of foods, drinks, and necessities for the hotels rooms, "Alright," you hummed, "why don't we go in different directions, I'll grab the food, and you can grab the drinks and everything else," he nodded, seemingly satisfied with this.

You ripped his required portion of the list and handed it over to him, obvious that you had an equal split of items to search for, and that you had purposely given him the opportunity of looking through the drink isle, knowing he had a better grasp of popular alcohols than you, even though you were well versed in many different drinks. Wheeling your cat right after Husk into the grocery store, you headed over to the food isle, nearly clearing out a few of their fruits, cereal, and other industrial foods. You looked over the list again, and smiled when you realized you had already gotten everything you needed, especially since the cart was nearly overflowing with all kinds of snacks and goodies for the residents.

After over looking your items, you wheeled your way over to the alcohol isle, only to see Husk staring down a few bottles of different high end whiskeys and scotches. You laughed at him, breaking him out of his trance, to see you finished with your side of shopping, a bit happy to see he could get out of there soon enough.

You looked over to the bottle he had been staring at, an idea popping into your head, "Hey Husk, why don't you take our carts to an isle, I have to look for something real quick," he was about o ask what, but before he could, you shooed him off with your hand, making him curse in annoyance, quickly leaving to find an open isle.

You smiled, knowing your plan had worked, you trotted over to the bottles, your tail wagging a bit as you read over the Whiskeys names, seeing many different expensive brands and tastes. You ended up settling on what Husk had been looking at, something called "Tanner's Fire," some kind of honey laced bourbon, definitely something to get you jazzed pretty quick. Grabbing the large bottle of booze, you walked just down the isle to see boxes and boxes of cigarettes and cigars, due to it being hell, they weren't put behind any kind of supervision like they would on earth. Looking over the large display, you settled on some hearty cigars, and a pack of cigarettes, both of them being for yourself, unless Husk liked to smoke as well.

You walked out of the alcohol isle, seeing Husks ear tufts peeking over the cashiers line, and with a smirk on your face, you trailed over to him keen on showing off your small gift.

"Look what I got," you declared, shaking the bottle in your hand in front of Husk, causing him to turn around and see your display, surprise written onto his features, "I- you-" he gestured, a smile threatening to appear of his face, "ya don't have to get that for me, ya know that, right?" he questioned, laughing nervously.

You nodded, a small wag finding itself on your tail, "and it'll be on MY tab," you winked at him, acting a bit more, risky, than you intended.

A nervous smile shown through his grumpy demeanor, making it clear he didn't expect you to even notice which alcohol he wanted in the first place.

The two of you waited for the line to move which, unsurprisingly, took a while, mainly due to your sheer amount of items, and the annoyed worker who wasn't too keen on scanning all the items you had accumulated. With some patience, that originated from the though of both of your vices that you were buying, you managed to make it through the seemingly endless process of waiting, scanning, bagging, and paying for all of the items.

After getting through the complete hell of a check out, you smiled over to Husk, to see him with numerous bags on each arm, and cradling his new alcohol like a baby. You laughed at his display, finding it hilarious he would work through the weight of all the liquor just to carefully hold his new bottle.

"Hey," he barked, a smug smile on his face, "I'll have you know I treasure this bottle, considering it was a gift," he side eyed you, a devilish grin now fully formed on his features.

You'd be a fool in denying you didn't redden at his remarks and grin, you'd never seen him smile like that before, or look at you like that. Yet on the other end of the stick, you'd be a fool to say you even liked the demon, but he definitely did catch you off guard, its not like he wasn't attractive.

He chuckled at your embarrassment, "What, never seen my smile before?" 

You looked over to him, an impish smile on your features, knowing how to get him back, "No," you positioned the bags of one hand into the other, "but I'd like to see it again," you finished, your hand under his jaw and you eyes narrowed a bit, fluttering your eyelashes.

His face brightened in surprise, enticing a laugh to bellow from his throat, "I get it, I get it," he pushed your hand away gently, "I like yer smile too."

You only giggled at his compliment, hiding your fluster, promptly returning to your original pace back to the hotel. You both made it back shortly, and you were glad too, your arms and hands had been cramping thanks to the weight of all the food and other objects.

Charlie rushed to the two of you, directing you to the kitchen counter so you could place your things down, "Thanks so much for going out, and don't worry about putting everything away, I'll make sure to do it myself," you weakly smiled down at Charlie, she really was just a ball of joy.

"Thanks, Charlie" you replied, handing her the hotels card she gave to you earlier that day, "I hope you don't mind, we picked up a few things for ourselves."

She smiled at you, "Oh don't worry about it, I'm glad!"

Quickly sifting through the groceries, you grabbed your smokes, looking over your shoulder to see Husk already at the bar, drinking a new bottle of beer. You figured he was tired after the day out, considering he seemed to not like interaction much, and due to carrying those heavy bags.

After minimal thought, you decided to relax as well, plopping yourself onto the couch to watch some tv.

\---

"Gumbo, everyone!" the call alarmed you, making you jump from your spot.

"Gumbo?" you mumbled to yourself, confused at the declaration, "but it's only-" you looked at the clock, realizing that you had in fact been watching tv for a few hours, straight up until dinner time.

With a sigh, you stood, making your way over to the kitchen, only to see a large pot in the center of the table, filled to the brim with vegetables, shrimp, and chicken. Bowls sat in front of each seat, a serving of rice planted in the middle to accommodate the main meal. You gulped, you wouldn't admit it looked positively delicious, especially since it was the radio demon we're talking about, you would never trust such a malicious demons cooking.

"Oh wow Alastor," Charlie spoke, clearly hungry for the meal, "this looks great!" she quickly sat in her seat, plopped right between him and Vaggie who took their seats just after her.

You repressed a grimace, seeing as Angel and Niffty made their seats next to Vaggie and Alastor, respectively.

Husk sat next, making sure to sit next to Niffty in hopes of avoiding Angel Dust.

Leaving you, sitting just between Husk and Angel, perfect.

The lot of you nervously glanced around, none of you making any effort to eat, all a bit scared that some kind of poison may be lurking in the dish. Well, all of you except for Charlie, you nearly immediately took a giant bite of the dinner, eager to know its taste.

"Charlie!" Vaggie enthused, "Are you Crazy? What it it's poisoned?" she glared at Alastor, gesturing a bit wildly.

"It doesn't taste like poison," Charlie trailed off, a big hunk of rice in her mouth.

Vaggie sighed, sinking back into her chair while a devilish smile was painted on Alastors lips, before parting to partake in his own cooking. Everyone nervously dug in after that, seeing as Charlie seemed to be fine after a few spoonfuls.

You regretted to inform that his cooking was delicious, and that you even had to hold yourself back from going back in for seconds, or even thirds. A quick glance around the room told you everyone else felt the same, and Husks angered expression enthused his particular distaste for just how good his cooking was.

You all finished your meal relatively quickly, Alastor sporting a grin of fulfillment on his gray skin.

"Sheesh," Charlie spoke, "that was really good, Al," he smiled even wider, "I'm glad you think so!"

Vaggie merely huffed, communicating she felt the same, while Angel and Niffty nodded along in agreement, both a bit more enthusiastic than the moth demon. You and Husk on the other hand, were more like Vaggie, neither of you liked the deer demon much, and more or less, had little to no trust for him, all for very good reasons, too.

"Well," Angel started, pushing away from the table to stand, fixing his hair, "I'm gonna split, see ya" he finished, trotting away presumably to his room.

Husk already started for the bar, and Niffty had begun to put away the dishes, while Alastor snapped away, seemingly to his room, or something of the other.

You merely waved at Charlie and Vaggie, mouthing a small goodnight before heading to your room as well for a good nights sleep, hell knew you needed it.


	5. I've got you under my skin

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter has a song sung entirely in Scotts gaelic, I'll leave a translation at the end of the chapter, and I recommend you listen to the original! http://www.canasg.com/zgaol.shtml also!! to keep the integrity of the song, all parts where reader sings will be written in bold.

_You all finished your meal relatively quickly, Alastor sporting a grin of fulfillment on his gray skin._

_"Sheesh," Charlie spoke, "that was really good, Al," he smiled even wider, "I'm glad you think so!"_

_Vaggie merely huffed, communicating she felt the same, while Angel and Niffty nodded along in agreement, both a bit more enthusiastic than the moth demon. You and Husk on the other hand, were more like Vaggie, neither of you liked the deer demon much, and more or less, had little to no trust for him, all for very good reasons, too._

_"Well," Angel started, pushing away from the table to stand, fixing his hair, "I'm gonna split, see ya" he finished, trotting away presumably to his room._

_Husk already started for the bar, and Niffty had begun to put away the dishes, while Alastor snapped away, seemingly to his room, or something of the other._

_You merely waved at Charlie and Vaggie, mouthing a small goodnight before heading to your room as well for a good nights sleep, hell knew you needed it._

_\---_

You sighed into your palm, applying a think layer of mascara to your lashes, fluttering them when you finished, slightly adjusting your freshly curled hair with your hand. Smiling, you brushed lip gloss onto your lips, quickly popping them together to set the look.

You never much liked prettying yourself up for work, but thankfully, today was a more, chill, day. You only had to do minimal makeup, and put on semi formal wear, it's not like the guys cared much, if anything, they encouraged it, they thought it made you sing better, or something like that. Honestly, you didn't care much either way, all you knew was that you wanted the money, and whatever they wanted, you complied with, and didn't exactly have a second thought about it, they were good people after all.

Grabbing a hairband, you tied your hair up into a bun, admiring you semi formal wear on your body through the vanity's mirror, softly smoothing down your black pencil skirt when your hair was done up. You smiled, gripping the collar of your white button down shirt and laying it flat before swiftly checking the time on your hell phone, noting you should leave in a little under an hour.

With little determination, you set out of your room, locking the door behind you, and slipping into the elevator, eager on eating some kind of breakfast before going to the studio, not too keen on singing in an empty stomach. You clicked the elevator's lobby button with your manicured nails, feeling the jolt, before the descent of the boxy machine to the floors below.

With a snap, you walked through the jittery doors when you met your destination, swiftly being met with the arrays of reds and blacks of the hotel, a stark contrast to your white and gold room, a few quick blinks of your eyes were needed to adjust to the bright colors. You glanced around the room, noting that you were the only demon awake, you smiled at the solitude, a bit happy that you didn't really have to interact with anyone, especially in the early hours of the morning.

As your feet carried you with swift steps, you trotted over to the fridge, squatting down to grab a red apple from one of the bins, chomping right into it for a speedy breakfast.

\---

The door opened with little effort from your finger tips, the old door squeaking to an open as you blinked into the dimly lit studio, immediately spotting your two agents, their faces brightening when they saw you, right on time, as always.

"y/n, y/n!" the reddish imp demon greeted you, walking over to your tall form with arms outstretched, you chuckled, embracing him, "yer right on time! Alright, yer singin dat' marry ban song er whateva?"

You nodded at him, a weak smile on your face, "uh, thats close enough."

He smiled up at you, trotting over to his stool at the mixing board, slapping a big chunky pair of headphones onto his ears, adjusting his horns to fit.

The short imp demon's name was Gus, he had met you near the start of your career in hell, saw you in one of your earlier gigs and thought you had potential, ever since then you had been working with him and his new record label. The other demon was already at their station, they simply nodded at you when you walked in, not caring much for greetings. Their name was August, and being an owl demon, they liked the dimly lit studio rather than a brightly lit one, you had met them shortly after you met Gus.

You smiled at the two of them, walking with a small pep in your step as you opened the door to the foam lined walls, sliding a specialized headset for your animal like ears onto your head.

Looking over at the two demons, Gus gave you a thumbs up, a rusty smile lining his lips as he adjusted a few notches on the board in front of him.

You swallowed due to nervousness, looking over to the microphone in front of you, you cleared your throat, and prepared to let your heart out.

**Gaol mo chrìdh-sa Màiri Bhàn,**

**Màiri bhòidheach, sgeul mo dhàin;**

**'S i mo ghaol-sa Màiri Bhàn,**

**'S tha mi 'dol ga pòsadh.**

You began, singing softly into the microphone.

**Thuit mi ann an gaol a-raoir,**

**Tha mo chrìdh-sa shuas air beinn,**

**Màiri Bhàn rim' thaobh a'seinn,**

**'S tha mi 'dol ga pòsadh.**

Your voice quickened and strengthened, your eyes fluttering to a close as you continued.

**Cuailean òir is suilean tlàth,**

**Mala chaol is gruaidh an àigh,**

**Beul as binne sheinneas dàn,**

**'S tha mi 'dol ga pòsadh**

You nearly listened to rest of the chorus repeating your words as you sung, a smile landing on your features before you gripped the microphone, adjusting your hold carefully.

**'S ann aig ceilidh aig a' Mhòd**

**Fhuair mi eòlas air an òigh —**

**'S ise choisinn am bonn òir,**

**'S tha mi 'dol ga pòsadh.**

Taking a deep breath in, you glanced to the boys, seeing giddy smiles on their faces at your performance.

**Bidh mo ghaol do Màiri Bhàn**

**Dìleas, dùrachdach gu bràth;**

**Seinnidh sinn da chèil' ar gràdh,**

**'S tha mi 'dol ga pòsadh.**

Releasing the breath you had been holding, you were interrupted with Gus throwing himself onto your stool to hug you, nearly sending you flying.

"Jesus girl! Why'd ya never tell me you can sing that good in Scottish?" he jokingly questioned, adjusting his trucker hat atop his head.

While taking your headset off, you replied, "I just never thought it'd be all that good," you shook your head, "but it sounds like I should be singing like that more," you hummed, a grin on your face.

The imp curtly nodded to you, before skidding his way back into his old chair, a smile on his face as he urged you to your next song, August doing the same.

You smiled at the two of them, adjusting yourself onto the seat and the headphones you had just taken off.

\---

"Hey Gus?" you mumbled through a full mouth of food.

"uh, yeah?" he replied, taking a gulp of water just after.

You took another bite of the roast beef sandwich in your hands, "why do you always bring us sandwiches?"

"well ya see-"

August cut him off, "Better question! Why do y'all always eat with yer mouths full! It's frankly digustin'!" The owl demon enthused, gesturing to the two of you.

You and Gus stared at them for a moment, before bursting into a fit of laughter, August quickly following along.

The three of you eventually quieted, Gus piping up after he finished his lunch, "I just thought you guys would like a home made lunch," he seemed a bit chipper, obvious he had begun to think it would cheer you all up, especially so if you considered where the lot of you lived.

You flashed him a genuine smile, your eyes alone telling him how grateful you were. The three of you were never that close, and you had only just started recording songs to be put on live radio, before you got more serious, the two of them merely helped you to plan gigs out at bars.

You quickly said your goodbyes to your agents just before you took your leave, and just after you finished recording your final song. Singing was one of your favorite things to do in the entirety of hell, but it also killed your voice, and the best thing you could do for a shot throat, would be to relax with a couple of cold beers. You didn't even hesitate to lick your lips at the thought of some fresh alcohol, or some fast food, really, anything would do just about now.

Snapping a look to your hellphone, you take a note of the time, making your brisk walk back to the hotel ever more eager, hell's sunset telling you the need of arriving as soon as possible, lest you stay in the dark for long. 

The clack of your shoes against the grime of the worn sidewalk felt hurried and rushed, and the sense of acute fear drenched your shoulders and gut, but that may have been due to the fact you had skipped dinner, and breakfast to some account.

A sigh wavered just in the pit of your throat, and only left when you had finally reached the hotel's door step, and with a swing of the handle, you swiftly stepped in, delighted to see the sparseness of the lobby, just in time for-

"Thank Satan!" a familiar voice exclaimed, a pair of arms wrapped around your waist that accompanied the voice, and a quick look down to see platinum blonde hair told you all you needed to know.

A hesitant hand laid on her head, and a weak smile crossed your lips, "Oh, Charlie," your voice wavered and croaked, singing always did a number on you.

"Where in all of hell were you?" she ripped her head from your chest, her brows knit into a feigned expression of anger, "and what happened to your voice?" she cooed, features softening.

You resisted the reaction of growing cold and rigid to the girl, instead, you forced a smile onto your lips, "I was just at my job," you pet her hair, "nothing more."

Her face told you she was unconvinced, but never wanting to pry, she decided against on pushing further, instead gesturing to the kitchen, "Well, you did miss dinner, why don't you go get your plate? I made sure to set one aside for you." she smiled.

You returned the gesture and said a quick thank you, trotting over to the kitchen just after Charlie had started to make her way up stairs and to her own room for the night. Arriving in the kitchen, you scanned the area, quickly spotting a saran wrapped plate of broccoli, steak, and mashed potatoes, all together seeming like a relatively tame meal. You picked it and its utensils up happily, slyly looking over your shoulder to see the bartender patiently waiting at his post, an expression you couldn't quite decipher resting on his fur.

Your upturned grin settled a bit, was he lonely? Or was he just tired, did he want company? You glanced out the window, noting the bustle of cars, and the dimmed, hellish, night sky. You sighed, deciding to sit with him as you ate, it's not like you really wanted to sit anywhere else anyway.

With a grin, you wandered over to the bar, quickly catching Husk's attention with the click of your shoes and the aroma of food, your wide, sharp grin reeling him in the most, this making itself evident in his almost bored tone.

"Well now," he stares at your food, then your face, "aren't we in a chipper mood today?" his paw is scrunched on his cheek in order to hold his head up.

You give him a nod while taking a seat on a stool, setting the meal down just before you. 

Stabbing your fork into the steak, you cut a piece off, before quickly eating it in one bite, "So," you say while cutting up your next mouthful, "how was your day?"

He grunts, shrugging his shoulders a bit, "same as ever, nothing new," he looks off into the hotel, your grin quickly wipes off your face at the sight of his somber mood, but you make haste with taking another bite before he can notice.

You eat in silence for a moment, before deciding to make some kind of conversation by asking for a drink, "can I have a beer?" you say through a mouthful, eyeing the liquor in his hand, three empty bottles just beside it, you frown.

He sighs, grabbing a beer can from a cooler to pass to you, "how long have you been drinking?" you say, freezing him in place, the question obviously striking a cord, and guilt immediately pools in your gut.

He laughs an uncomfortable laugh, eyes veering down to his bottle, "as long as I can remember," his eyes shoot to yours, genuine curiosity painted on his features, "and what about you?"

You stiffen, not expecting the question either, a nervous laugh escapes your mouth while you respond with a hoarse, "It's the same for me."

He curtly nods, taking a long swig of his booze as the two of you sit in a somber silence, both of your eyes drawing to the floor, only catching each others gaze for a moment.

"uh," you laugh, "could you turn the radio on? I don't have a preference, whatever you'd like is fine."

complying with your request, he shuffles to the other end of the bar, messing with a few nobs and switches of the radio before settling on late 60's early 70's music, the volume low and smooth. You smile at the slow music, it reminded you of a sweet time in hell.

Taking a long gulp of the can, you finish, "could you get me another one of these?" you grin, glancing at the demon's face before eyeing your empty booze, "I love this music," you mutter, trailing the rim of the can with your finger.

If you weren't mistaken, you could've sworn you saw that cat grin as he turned his back to you, "I do too, reminds me of when I was alive," your smile only grows at his reply.

When he turns to face you with your drink, hes shining a real, genuine smile, a smile that would've set your face on fire if you weren't sober. You laugh, your cheeks heating up to join your growing embarrassment. You didn't expect to see the man smile, ever.

Husk laughs, handing you the beer you had asked for, cracking open one for himself as did you.

The two of you sit in silence for what seems like a hour, but it isn't uncomfortable or weird, it's nice, it's calm, and it's easy to see that with the faint smiles on each of your faces. You sigh into your drink, noticing that the bottle is now empty, and truth be told, you were a little disappointed it was.

You stand up abruptly, startling the half asleep bartender, "Husk," he looks up to you, a grunt in the back of his throat, "thanks for humoring me," you smile, only getting a small nod in return. 

"Goodnight, Husk," you mutter, your throat paining you to speak, "goodnight," he replies, a faint smile on his lips.

Turning around, you begin to trot to the kitchen and set your plate into the sink, giving it a good scrub before walking back to your room, content in being able to finally talk to someone like an equal, like someone that could actually understand you, like a friend.

_**Translation of song here ---** _

_**The love of my heart, fair-haired Mairi,  
Beautiful Mairi, the story of my song;  
She is my true love, fair-haired Mairi,  
And I am going to marry her.  
  
I fell in love last night,  
My very heart is up on a mountain,  
Fair-haired Mairi beside me, singing,  
And I am going to marry her.  
  
Golden locks and gentle eyes,  
Narrow eyebrow and merry cheek,  
Sweetest mouth to sing a song,  
And I am going to marry her.  
  
It was at a ceilidh at the Mod  
I became aware of the young woman —  
It was she that won the gold medal  
And I am going to marry her.  
  
My love for fair-haired Mairi will be  
Faithful, sincere for ever;  
Together we will sing our love,  
And I am going to marry her.** _


End file.
